NBA Trade Deadline 2020: One trade every team should make
Los Angeles Clippers: Moe Harkless, Lou Williams, Montrezl Harrell, Jerome Robinson and own unprotected 2020, 2022 second-rounders for the Toronto Raptors’ Kyle Lowry
Reason for Los Angeles: The Clippers are built for one thing and one thing only, and that’s a championship. Lou Williams is one of the coolest players in the NBA, but his game is not built for the playoffs, as the Raptors found out in 2014-15. It’s possible that the same is true of Montrezl Harrell, though that is less certain. Lowry, on the other hand, is a proven playoff winner who can execute opponents when it matters. He does every single thing on the court at a great level, on both ends, and he would fit alongside anyone. He and Kawhi Leonard have brilliant chemistry already. This would put the Clippers over the top. They’d lose four players for one, but the Clippers would have their pick of the buyout market. They could rebuild the back end of the bench without too much trouble. Teams usually only go eight or nine deep in the playoffs anyway.
Reason for Toronto: Losing Kyle Lowry is a near-impossible sell to Toronto, but the Raptors have some difficult choices to make either way. With Fred VanVleet on the up and up, and much younger than Lowry, the Raptors would hand him the keys ahead of his free agency. Toronto would gain two promising young players in Harrell and Robinson, as well as an audition look at Harkless. It’s possible that Harrell especially fits as a perfect long-term frontcourt partner with Pascal Siakam. Toronto wouldn’t jeopardize its all-important 2021-22 cap space, other than with a small salary for Robinson. Finally, the Raptors would gain a few draft picks, and they’ve shown an ability to turn second-rounders into contributors. Losing Lowry would be as painful as imaginable, but Masai Ujiri has shown a willingness to make trades despite that pain. If the Raptors think they aren’t going to make noise this year, it’s possible they sell Lowry to a contender for some positive assets. This is as good a package as they’re going to get for a player they may lose for nothing in a year regardless.